


Castle of Memories

by Onelinewonder



Category: Rune Factory (Video Games), Rune Factory 4
Genre: Drama, Memories, One Sided Relationships, Some Cursing, frienship, relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-08-08 04:44:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7743850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onelinewonder/pseuds/Onelinewonder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After losing Venti, Frey has the chance to regain her memories by befriending two mysterious sisters that seem to have deep connections with her past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Castle of Memories

Prologue: Watch Over Us

Shaking her head, Frey sighed heavily as she dragged her claymore behind her, pushing through the blue, ornate doors of Lady Ventuswill’s chamber with tears in her eyes. Her armor weighed heavily down on her shoulders, making it feel as though she wouldn’t last a second longer standing – her body was broken. Her mind was numb. Her heart…Her heart had been torn apart as she desperately battled her way into the depths of Rune Prana, searching for any sign of her best friend, Ventuswill.

 Moonlight flooded the empty chamber as the doors slowly creaked opened; the vastness of the large, oval chamber only reminded the princess of what she had lost in the battle against the Sech’s Empire. Without the obnoxiously loud and gigantic dragon, the room felt eerie and cold even on a warm, spring evening.

“Oh, Venti…” Frey whimpered, clutching her chest as she dropped to her knees at the front of the marble platform that once housed the dragon, “I-I’m…” she trailed off as hasty footsteps echoed throughout the chamber. She wasn’t alone.

“Princess?” Vishnal, her faithful butler-in-training, called out into the darkness with confusion in his trembling voice. Soon he was quickly striding towards her broken body as his eyes adjusted to the moonlit room.

 “Frey, what are you doing out here so late?” He asked, lifting her chin to meet her eyes as he knelt beside her. Frey recoiled, quickly wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand, smudging the dirt and grime from the caves of Rune Prana across her cheeks.

The gritty salt from her sweat stung the small cuts in her skin suddenly became much more noticeable as she tried to gather her composure, embarrassed that she had been caught showing such weakness.

Frey sniffed, pulling the corners of her lips into a tight smile, “Vish, what are you doing up so late?” She asked, ignoring the tears welling in her eyes. “You know y-you should get some rest; it’s going to be morning soon and what am I going to do i-if you’re not there to wake me up?”

“Frey…” Vishnal murmured, “You know I can never fall asleep until you’re home safe…” he said, lifting his hand to her soft, cold cheek. “What were you doing out there for so long?”

“Vish – I couldn’t – I can’t _save_ her,” Frey sobbed, collapsing into his chest, balling her fists into his uniform. “She’s _gone,_ Vish, and I’m never going t-to – I never even got to say _goodbye_.” Vishnal shook his head as he ran a hand through his master’s long, mint green hair,

“Hey, it’s okay; it’s going to be okay,” he sighed, glancing towards the open ceiling. “Come on; I want to show you something,” Vishnal said as he helped Frey to her feet, slowly guiding her to the middle of the platform.

He lied down on his back and patted the ground next to him, motioning for her to follow his lead. Frey sniffed, wiping the snot from her nose once again as laid down next to him, looking up at the night sky.

“Do you remember the day that you came to Selphia?” Vishnal asked, turning his head towards her. Frey bit her lip as she kept her eyes glued to the stars,

“Yes and no; I remember falling from the sky, but I don’t remember much before that. It was the day I lost my memories,” She replied quietly, thinking back to that day. It was the first day she had ever met Venti, but it came with a cost.

It was Venti who gave her the chance to start a new life; it was Venti who gave her the courage to forge new memories and create new bonds with mere strangers. Vishnal nodded his head, “Yes, it was quite eventful, wasn’t it?” He asked, chuckling under his breath, “We were all so convinced that you were Sir Arthur, but that turned out to be not so true in the end. But, despite those truths, you’ve become a wonderful princess. Haven’t you?”

Frey frowned, shifting underneath her stuffy armor as she tried to find a more comfortable position to lie in. “Well…I guess – in _your_ opinion – I have. I don’t think I’ve done much for anyone in Selphia…If I can’t even bring the god that watched over this town back, how could I possibly call myself a _good_ princess?”

Vishnal scoffed, “Is that what you think?” He asked, “You really believe that you haven’t done _anything_ worthwhile as princess of Selphia?” Frey shrugged her shoulders in response, glancing towards Vishnal. “Frey, you save Amber, Dylas, Dolce and Leon. You brought the town together – you convinced Doug that he was more than a traitor! You’ve been a wonderful princess to this town and it’s been a pleasure serving you.”

“Vish–” Frey sighed, looking up at the sky as he cut her off,

“Frey, look,” Vishnal pointed towards a cluster of stars, “Do you see that right there?” He asked,

“…No…I don’t recall ever learning about that constellation,” She said, frowning as she tried in vain to picture the astrological maps she had studied with Arthur over the years.

Vishnal grinned at her, amethyst colored eyes gleaming in the dim light, “That constellation appeared just after Lady Ventuswill passed on. She’s watching over us; so, whenever you’re feeling like all of this is pointless, just think about that. She’s up there waiting for you; it’s just going to take some time to get there.”

Frey gave a small, sad smile before returning her gaze towards the new constellation. Venti’s constellation. She wondered why she hadn’t noticed the appearance of the cluster of stars before Vishnal pointed them out, but she supposed she had been overworking herself for quite some time. Ever since that day – ever since Ventuswill passed – Frey had been burying herself in her work, taking up every opportunity to protect the town as well as expanding her farm as much as she possibly could.

There were days where she barely even had time to talk with her friends let alone eat dinner every once in awhile. Most of her time was spend on the farm or in dungeons fighting monsters until her body couldn’t take it any longer, eventually sending herself to the clinic for Dr. Jones to restore her health.

She couldn’t go on living like that. What good would it do if she died trying to save Venti? It would only hurt her friends even more than they already were and that was the furthest from what she wanted. The only one benefiting from her rampages through the dungeon were Dr. Jones – who made quite a hefty sum of gold from her decaying health – and herself.

Yes, it was only out of pure selfishness did she spend so much time in Rune Prana and the other dungeons. If she was going to be totally honest with herself, the only reason she was there was so she could see Venti one last time. She wasn’t even sure if she would be able to bring the dragon back _if_ she found her.

But…Still…

She couldn’t allow herself to feel numb any longer; she had to stop destroying her body in order to feel just a slight moment of peace.

There were still people who cared about her in this world – people like Vishnal and Dylas…

And what would Ventuswill say if she found out Frey was purposefully numbing herself to the pain? It wouldn’t make her proud; it would only disappoint her.

“Frey, look there’s a shooting star!” Vishnal said, pointing toward a bright light streaking across the night sky, “Make a wish…”

Frey held her breath as she watched the star sparkle and fade out of existence, _I wish…Venti, if you’re listening, I wish you’d send me some kind of sign that you’re alright. I just want to know…and then someday – maybe not tomorrow or five years from now – But someday I’m going to bring you home. Until then…Just give me one last sign…_

Frey closed her eyes, smiling as she at last felt a moment of peace. For the first time since Venti passed, she finally felt as though things were going to be okay. Maybe not totally okay, and maybe it would take some time for things to go back to normal, but at least she felt… _something._ At least she didn’t need the bruises and scars and the blood and the sweat and the tears in order to feel as though she was still alive.

For now, she would take the feeling of the cold, marble floor against her exposed skin and the heat radiating from Vishnal lying next to her. For now, she would take the pain and sadness in her heart. For now, she would feel alive. At least, for now.

“Frey…” Vishnal murmured, nudging her arm. “F-Frey…” Frey raised her brow, turning her face towards him as she opened her eyes. “L-look!”

Her eyes widened in horror as she returned her attention to the sky just as a large, glowing portal appeared over Ventuswill’s Constellation, slowly growing brighter and wider by the second.

Frey jumped to her feet, reaching for her sword, which was no longer in its hilt. “Vish!” She shouted, her commanding voice thinly veiling her sudden feeling of dread and panic. “Get back!”

**_KA-BOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM_ **

“Argh!” Frey grunted as she stumbled backwards, the castle shaking from the explosive sound wave reverberating throughout the building. “Dear gods, what is _that?_ ”

…

_It was half past midnight when Emery lightly slapped her sister Willow’s cheeks, awakening her from a deep sleep. Emerald green eyes opened slowly, meeting a pair of icy blues in the darkness, melting into a state of confusion as they desperately tried to make sense of the situation._

_Willow sat up, glancing towards the door to see their friend, Claire, solemnly looking out of their tiny farmhouse window. She felt her heart drop into her stomach as Emery opened her mouth to speak, but closed it before uttering the words Willow was already dreading._

_It was time._

_Their location had been compromised once again, and without a moment’s hesitation, the sisters grabbed the necessities: a little bit of food, some clothes and photographs from their stay. Claire motioned for them to follow her as they fled into the darkness of the night, darting in and out of shadows with hopes of staying hidden long enough to escape._

_Sechs soldiers walked the streets of the small, modern town, kicking down doors of friends and neighbors as they searched for the girls. **Not tonight…Why did this happen tonight?** Emery thought to herself, roughly pulling her sister behind a bush near Old Farmer Bailey’s house._

_“You have to be more careful,” Emery whispered roughly into her sister’s ear, watching as a soldier strolled past them on the opposite side of the street. Claire tapped Emery on the shoulder and nodded towards the door of the house as she held a finger to her pale, pink lips. Not even seconds later another soldier emerged, dragging out screaming young girl by her long, raven colored pigtails. The soldier tossed her into the dirt just as Barely stumbled out after them, his face pale in the moonlight as he pleaded with the soldier,_

_“No, please! I assure you we don’t harbor the fugitives you are looking for!” He shouted, nearly falling over as he raced towards May, his granddaughter. “Have mercy; she’s just a little girl!”_

_“A likely story, Old Man, but the Captain won’t be pleased to hear it,” the soldier grunted, kicking dirt into their eyes. “I bet you know **something** about the girls.” The solder held out an old wanted poster, “Do these two look familiar to you?”_

_Barley’s hands trembled as he held the poster, glancing over his shoulder towards Claire’s house. “N-no. I’ve never seen these people before,” he said, his voice shaking with fear as the smirk on the soldier’s face grew larger._

_“Now, we both know lying won’t do you any good here, so just tell be where they are,” the soldier chuckled manically as he knelt down, placing his large, meaty hands on May’s shoulders. “Tell me, or I’ll kill her.”_

_Willow lunged forward as the soldier drew his blade, but Emery tightened her grip, pulling her back into the shadows. “Now is not the time,” Emery murmured, loosening her hold as she turned towards Claire, whose eyes were already damp from stifling sobs. “We have to get to the ship,” Emery pushed forward, nudging her friend away from the scene. The blond nodded her head, leading the sisters towards the woods behind the town._

_As they neared towards the woods, a large, wooden airship came into view – the very ship that had led the sisters into Mineral Town in the first place; the same ship that was going to get them all out of there. Out of breath and tired, the three slowed down, sure that they were out of harm’s way, but, before they had time to relax two more soldier emerged from the darkness, drawing their swords for a bloody fight._

_Willow reached for her blade, but before she could draw her sword, Emery paralyzed the two soldiers with a wave of her hand._

_It was a gamble – relying on magic when they had been hiding their powers for so long. There was no way to tell if the spell would hold long enough to reach the airship, but, as the oldest, Emery reserved the right to make those decisions. Without a second thought, they sprinted towards the ship, finally reaching it before they were caught by more of the Sech’s mindless killing machines they called soldiers._

_Claire turned around, pulling out an old, rusty sickle from her rucksack as Emery and Willow climbed the ropes to the deck of the ship. “Get out of here **now**!” She bellowed from the ground, “Preferably **before** more of them show up!” Willow glanced towards her sister, who had already begun chanting as she neared the bow of the ship. A small, purple portal begun to appear, growing in size the longer Emery held onto the spell, but Willow knew it wasn’t going to be nearly enough to get them through to the other side…at least not into a totally new world._

_“Emery, don’t be picky with dimensions; there’s no time for that!” Willow yelled over her shoulder before she leaned over the side of the ship, “Claire, come with us! You can’t stay here – they’ll kill you!” Claire shook her head, grinding her heels further into the dirt as she stood protectively in front of the ship,_

_“I have to stay here and defend my friends; I can’t leave them behind!” She yelled as the wind began to pick up, lifting the airship off the ground. Willow glanced back over her shoulder at Emery, who already had the portal halfway opened._

_When she looked back at the ground, five more soldiers had appeared with the Captain, circling around Claire and readying their weapons for an attack. Willow stretched out her arms, desperately reaching for Claire just as a soldier ambushed the girl from behind. Claire’s eyes widened with shock as she fell forward, blood pouring from her backside,_

_“NO!” Willow screeched, tears streaming down her face._

_How many more lives did they have to endanger like this? How many more friends had to die this way before they finally gave up? Willow glanced over her shoulder just as the ship began to enter the gate._

**_We’re so close to getting out of here_ ** _, she thought to herself, but just as that thought entered her mind, an enemy airship appeared from behind, and they didn’t look like they were in the mood for negotiations. “DAMMIT!” Willow screamed, pounding her fist onto the wooden railing._

_“Willow, take care of it,” Emery yelled over her shoulder as she tried to maintain the gate as long as she could._

_Willow sprinted towards the rear of the ship just as a flash of blindingly white heat whirled past her head, causing her to nearly fall over._

_She looked up, squinting her eyes as smoke filled the air, choking her._

_“F-fuck,” She coughed, clutching her throat as her lungs gasped for air._

_“WILLOW! I said to take care of it – not ‘cough up your damn lungs!” Emery shouted, panting as the smoke slowly began to surround her. **Shit…Shit!** Emery thought to herself, turning her attention back towards the gate. There wasn’t time to worry about her dumbass of a sister – the girl was strong enough to take care of the soldiers. At least, Emery **hoped** she was strong enough. It was all she could do to keep her mind from worrying and focus on maintaining the gate. They just needed to reach the other side before the Captain could report their whereabouts.  _

_But, every few seconds the soldiers were stuffing their cannons with highly flammable material, striking a match and launching the homemade fireballs. It seemed as if they were in an even bigger rush to take them down than before and Emery had a feeling why…_

_Rumors had been passed through the grapevine that the leader of the Sech’s Empire had been destroyed, but, as always, Emery was too skeptical to believe it._

_But…Now it seemed as if the soldiers were pulling every trick in the book to get to them, and she knew that if she couldn’t get the gate opened in time they were going to be goners for sure. And she wasn’t about to let that happen. She wasn’t about to go back to that place…Not now; not ever._

_Willow groaned in frustration as she dove to the ground, narrowly escaping the flames. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” She growled, push herself up just as the blazing heat of a fire hit her face. Everywhere she looked, flames were already spreading and it wouldn’t be much longer before they began to lose air._

_“WILLOW!” Emery screeched; her arms shaking as she desperately clung on to keep the gate open, “We’re halfway through; just – **do what you can!** ”_

_Willow nodded her head and quickly began combating the giant fireballs with a few water spells she pulled out of her ass, but proved to be a useless attempt. Every few seconds she was using her magic to stop the flames and she could already feel it draining her body of energy. She paused just long enough to catch her breath, but before she could even regain her composure, two more fireballs slammed into the left side of the ship, causing them to lurch sideways._

_The gears that Emery had enchanted years ago were groaning under the excessive force, but somehow they were still managing to stay air born. All they needed was to just make it through the gate…but Willow wasn’t sure how long she could keep it up. She only paused for a second to catch her breath and they were hit twice!_

_No...There wasn’t time to think about the possibilities. She had to do what she could for now and **fight.** At least until Emery gave the all clear – it shouldn’t be more than just a few minutes before they were home free._

_The captain of the other airship appeared at the bow and stepped up, as if he were contemplating on jumping the gap between the two ships. He knew he was at risk of losing the sisters for probably another year before he found them again. If he somehow could get past Willow, he could knock Emery out of position and destroy the gate._

_Just as he locked his purple eyes onto Willow’s, a thought occurred to her – one that she had never considered before, but it was worth a shot all the same._

_Since they were halfway through the gate, it was almost guaranteed that they were in a new dimension. If she could just take over Emery’s position and maintain the gate long enough and secure Emery a safe exit, they wouldn’t run the risk of the gate being destroyed and they’d be able to close it in time without any problems._

_“Emery – Jump! I can handle the gate!” Willow screamed over her shoulder in desperation as her sister shook her head in response._

_“Don’t be an idiot –” Emery yelled over the roaring flames around her, “I’m not going to leave you up here to fend for yourself! We’re sisters; I’m not leaving you behind!”_

_The airship lurched once more, nearly causing the two of them to lose their balance. They were losing air – fast – there wasn’t time for them to start any arguments. Not when their lives were at stake._

_“I’ll be there right after I close the gate, I promise! Just – Please, trust me for once in your life,” Willow pled as Emery glanced over her shoulder, assessing the situation._

_Emery glanced over her shoulder, struggling to keep the gate open any longer as the magic quickly drained from her body. To make matters worse, the crew was already preparing a pathway for the Captain to jump the gap. There was no telling what would happen if he made it across – Emery knew that. But…to leave her sister behind? To go back on everything she ever stood for? There was no way she had it in her. She wasn’t a coward; she was a warrior…or…was she?_

_“ **Emery!** ” Willow begged, snapping the blond back into reality. The ship was almost out of the gate and the Captain only had a few more seconds to make a decision. He only had to jump through, and then he’d be able to report back to the Sech’s about where they were and they **couldn’t** let that happen. _

_“If you don’t jump after me, I’ll kick your ass!” Emery yelled as she swapped places with Willow, sprinting towards the edge of the ship and jumping into the abyss just as the airship finally emerged on the other side of the gate._

_Without a second of hesitation, the captain hurled himself through what was remaining of the gate, forcing Willow to close it before anyone else could make it through._

_Quickly, she drew her blade once again as she turned towards the Captain; his angry, purple eyes burning a hole into her head and sending a shiver down her spine._

_“C’mon and fight me, you bastard!”_

…

  “Vish – I think we’ve got company!” Frey growled as she grabbed onto the butler’s collar, dragging him up off the floor and out into the courtyard. Citizens were already beginning to gather, still dressed in their sleepwear.

 “Sir Frey –” Volkanon’s voice rumbled through the murmur of concerned citizens, “I believe we are in need of an evacuation.” He whispered loudly as he approached her. Frey’s eyes widened in shock,

 “Volkanon…A-are you sure about that?” She asked, looking around wildly as she searched for her friends. “Don’t you think that might just send everyone into an unnecessary panic?”

 Volkanon leaned in closer to her ear, “Princess, I believe everyone is already in an _unnecessary_ panic,” he said, glancing up towards the sky. “We have to do what we can to protect the most.” Frey shook her head,

 “I’m not sure if there’s time for that –”

 “Frey, I’ve assessed the surrounding areas. The path towards the south east boarder is clear for evacuation,” Forte said, grabbing hilt of her sword, “Plan Z is already in motion – we just need you to speak to the crowd and calm –”

 Frey raised her hand, cutting the dragon knight off, “Woah – Forte, don’t tell me this was the plan all along? How did you two iron out the details so quickly?” Frey asked, frowning, “What is going on here?”

“Sir Frey, _please_ , there’s no time for this we have to –”

 “ _Volkanon._ ”

“Frey, you’ve been out of it for so long; we had to discuss a backup plan if anything was to ever happen and you weren’t here.” Forte explained, guiltily rubbing a hand on the back of her neck, “It…It wasn’t – we weren’t trying to decide things behind your back. We just wanted to…To make sure everyone could get out of here safely.”

Frey sighed as she placed her hands on her hips, “Well…I’m here now. Tell me what I need to do.” Forte glanced towards Volkanon in surprise,

“Okay, first we need you to assure everyone that we’re capable of handling the situation, but for now it would be best if they were to leave town,” Forte explained. “Vishnal and Clorica will lead them to the rendezvous spot and the three of us will stay back and…Handle it.” She nodded towards the ever growing portal in the sky.

“Right; and…what is… _it_?” Frey asked.

“It looks like a monster gate, but there’s no way to tell for sure. We need to get everyone out of here before we find out, though.” Forte said, turning towards the crowd, “Ahem, _everyone_ , please turn your attention towards Princess Frey as she will now be giving out directions.” Frey’s eyes widened in surprise as she was suddenly put on the spot,

“Ah, right, okay, so…” Frey trailed off, chuckling to herself, “Everything is going to be _okay_ ; Forte, Volkanon and I are doing everything possible to ensure the safety of Selphia. For now, I’m going to need everyone to follow Vishnal and Clorica to a place we have secured in Yokmire Forest. When we give the all clear, everyone will be able to return home and get some sleep, but for now, we’re all going to take a trip to the…woods.” Frey nodded; _well,_ she thought to herself, _that went terribly_.

“Fr-ee-yyy –” a voice called out through the crowd. Frey craned her neck to see who was yelling for her, “Free-yyy!” Doug yelled, shoving past Kiel and Bado at the front of the crowd. Frey raised a brow, “Frey! I’m not leaving you here!” He yelled, panting as he stumbled into the clearing.

“Doug? What are you –”

“Oh, you stupid dwarf! If anyone is leaving it’s going to be _you!_ ” Dylas grunted as he grabbed onto the redhead’s collar, pulling him back into the crowd. “ _I’ll_ stay; _you_ go!”

“Why you stupid gelding! I’ll –”

“ _Hey!_ This is _not_ the time for fighting!” Frey yelled, crossing her arms over her chest. “Just follow directions for once in your life, please, or so help me I’ll –”

**_KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_ **

“ _Oompf!”_ Frey grunted as she stumbled forward, breaking her fall with the palms of her hands. “Dammit…” She cursed under her breath as she slowly stood up, unsheathing her sword.

The princess stepped back slowly, keeping her eyes glued to the sky as the murmurs of panicked citizens grew louder and louder while the portal grew larger and larger. Vishnal and Clorica tried in vain to calm the crowd down, slowly getting them to move towards the Selphia Gate, but they weren’t moving quick enough. Frey knew that if anything were to escape through that portal, they were all going to be done for. The size of the monster would certainly be too much for them to handle, but…

Frey wouldn’t give up. She’d never give up on them, even in the face of death she would gladly lay down her life if it meant saving her friends.

“Gods…What is _that_?” Forte asked. Her eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and determination as she stood her ground, protectively standing in front of the citizens of Selphia. Frey shook her head, watching patiently as the tip of a large, wooden airship slowly moved through the gate. “Is…Is that an _airship_?”

            Frey shrugged her shoulders, “I-I have no idea…I’ve never seen anything like it before…” She said, watching as the ship began to glow brighter and brighter, appearing as though flames were surrounding it. “Oh gods, is it on _fire_?”

            “Be careful – you still don’t know if any monsters are on that ship or not!” Dylas said, standing his ground beside Frey. “Don’t worry though; we’re all here for you.” Frey glanced over her shoulder, her eyes meeting those of Arthur, Doug, Dolce, Amber and Leon, who were all standing behind her, ready for battle.

            “This town is our responsibility just as much as it is yours,” Leon said. “Ventuswill would have wanted it to be this way.”

            Frey nodded her head, smirking as she returned her gaze towards the airship, “Right; I’m glad to have you on my side,” She said.

            The airship lurched just as the blazing fire grew stronger, tipping towards the ground. “Look, its loosing air…Is it…Oh gods, it’s going to crash!” Frey shouted in horror, “Forte, we have to stop the group from getting to Yokmire – I think the ship is going to crash there and we don’t know what’s on that thing –”

            “FREY! LOOKOUT!” Doug shouted from behind, shoving the princess out of the way as a large object fell from the sky, landing on top of him.

            “D-Doug,” Frey shrieked, stumbling forward as she regained her footing, whirling around to see what had happened. “Y-you idiot! What were you thinking?” Doug looked up at her, smiling lopsidedly beneath the heavy object as he attempted to hold up his thumb,

            “A-ah, I’m okay,” He coughed, shoving the lump off of him as he sat up. “What is this?” He asked, crawling over to the mysterious object on his hands and knees. Whatever it was, it was shrouded in a dark cloak and looked more like a sack of potatoes than anything else.

            Frey frowned worriedly, “Don’t…Don’t touch it…Just wait and see what it is first.” She said, watching as the sack began to move. “And...Don’t attack it either. We don’t know what it is…” Doug reached forward slowly as he grabbed the edge of the cloak, tugging on it just as a head of short, blond hair peaked through.

            “Ugh,” it groaned, rubbing a small hand on its head. “Where – oh thank the gods! _Solid ground!_ Sweet baby woolies, _solid ground_!” it exclaimed, maneuvering to its hands and knees as it kissed the ground, muttering under its breath. Doug recoiled, pushing himself to his feet as he glanced towards Frey.

            “Its…a _woman_ ,” He said.

            “Thanks for that one, genius.” Dylas grumbled, “I don’t think any of us were going to figure that out.” Doug frowned, opening his mouth to smart off, but Frey held her hand up, silencing both of them before any more arguing could occur.

            Frey knelt beside the woman, placing a hand on her back, “Are you okay?” She asked gently, cocking her head to the side as she studied the woman’s face. “Do you…Do you remember your name?”

            The woman looked up, blue eyes widening as she studied her surroundings, “I’m…fine. Thank you.” She said, standing up with the help from Frey, “My name is – ” She gasped, grasping Frey by the shoulders, “Oh gods, is it really you, Elfreya?” The woman asked, coughing as she swayed forward, “I…I thought you were _dead_ …” She smiled, eyes shimmering as she reached a hand to Frey’s cheeks, “I – I’m sorry…I was gone for so long…”

            The woman coughed again, doubling over as Frey stumbled backwards, “Elfreya…It’s me, Emery…” Emery said just as she fell unconscious, hitting the ground with a sickening thump.

            Frey felt her heart hammering against her chest as she glanced up towards the sky, watching as the airship crash landed into Yokmire Forest. _Elfreya…Could it be?_ She thought to herself, kneeling beside Emery. _Could this woman…Does this woman know about my past?_ _Venti…Did you send her? Did you hear my wish?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you might have noticed the similarities between this story and that of a FFNet story known as Emery and Willow. Well...I am currently rewriting that story and posting the chapters here for now. I hope to someday post the chapters on FFNet (and by someday I mean I will probably do it tomorrow once I get everything sorted out with the original story). I hope everyone so far has enjoyed the first chapter rewrite. If you've read the original, let me know what you think and if you like the changes I've made. If you're new, well, hello. Good to meet you and I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to review or favorite - thank you so much!


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